India frontrunner against New Zealand as 1st semi-final slated to resume on Wednesday

India frontrunner against New Zealand as 1st semi-final slated to resume on Wednesday.

It was a nagging cat and mouse game, if there ever was one. When you gathered up all the hope in the world, the rain was unrelenting. And just when hope started to slip by, rain Gods offered some respite to give you a semblance of optimism, only to return in a few minutes.

On what was an overcast day, New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat first. A decision which had its merits and demerits. It is generally advisable to bat second on days when rain is a possibility to end on the right side of the Duckworth-Lewis and Stern method. Also, given the conditions, it was certain that there would be some help for the new ball bowlers.

However, in New Zealand's defense, the pitch was actually a slow one and would play well initially, after which it would begin to deteriorate. New Zealand saw off the new ball by losing just one wicket. But after that, they went in their shell and kept defending balls when a more offensive approach would have served them well.

After consuming a huge number of dot balls, the partnership between Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor just began to put their foot on the pedal. Only after hitting a couple of boundaries, Williamson was dismissed off Chahal.

Following batsmen James Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme could not up the ante and New Zealand were stranded at 211-5 when umpires decided to walk off the field due to incessant rain, but could never return. The play will now resume on Wednesday with half-centurion Ross Taylor and Tom Latham still at the crease.

In ideal conditions, the viewers will have the entire match at hand, but the forecast for tomorrow is worse than today and heavy rain is a probability.

The shorter the match gets, the more advantage New Zealand will gain. In the worst possible scenario, that no play can transpire on Wednesday as well, India will qualify to the Final, courtesy of having earned more points in the league stage.